Tip # 9: Casting

By Anant Mathur (May 16, 2010)
 

One of the things that baffle my mind is why Indian screenwriters construct stories with actors in mind. What end up happening is that the character takes on the personality of the actor rather than being an original entity! This is why it seems that Shahrukh Khan has been playing the same character, in every film, for the last 15 years or so.

Today, Ninety percent of Bollywood films have actors portraying characters they never should be playing. That’s one of the key reasons why so many films are bombing these days. You shouldn’t hire friends or popular actors unless they can do justice to a role. After the story, the actors are probably the next worst thing to cut corners with. There is no excuse for not using proper actors in your project. Actors are supposed to breathe life into your characters and miscasting your film can irreparably hinder its success.

When a director first gets a script, he reads it through several times to get a feel for what the story is about and who the characters are. As he reads the script, he gets an impression of the characters. He then has a meeting with the Producer(s) and the Casting Director to share his ideas of the characters.

After the meeting, the Casting Director’s job is to sift through scores of potential actors for every part and audition them, only bringing the strongest candidates to the producer and director’s attention. The producer and director choose from the candidates that have been pre-selected by the casting director.

Two things the director and producer look for when reviewing candidates are:
 
         1. DO THEY HAVE RANGE?
         The general idea here is, “Can they act?” and you need to find this out quickly. 
         Can an actor give you both ends of the spectrum? Are they believable when 
         they are in a tense, dramatic scene? Are they believable in a comedy? Another 
         way to approach it is to see how different the actor and character are? Never 
         hire an actor who is similar in personality to the character, he won’t have the 
         range to push the character to a new level.

         2. CAN THEY TAKE DIRECTION?
         Any good actor will make a choice when they enter the casting room. They will 
         decide who this character is and give you their interpretation. So, what the  
         director needs to do is give them some “direction” – ask them to read the part 
         again but do something totally opposite from what they just did. This gives the 
         director an idea if they have range, and if they can take direction.

Improperly casting a film can be a disaster for your movie and cause some embarrassment. Do not proceed with a film under any circumstances unless you’re thrilled with your cast, you’ll only wish you had when you see it in the editing room.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.